Echinacea purpurea Harvest

Ah, there is nothing like harvesting Echinacea purpurea flower heads on a sunny August afternoon. We use both the flowering heads and roots of the plants to make tincture and have dried for teas. The root is not harvested till autumn of the 4th year of growth. Echinacea can be found in our Winter tonic tea mix. It is an amazing lymphatic and immuno stimulant, anti-inflammatory and anti-biotic plant. It boasts both anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties. It's Echinacea's polysaccharide and alkamide content that give it these healing actions.

We use it in clinic to prevent and treat respiratory conditions like tonsillitis, sinusitis, hayfever, asthma and laryngitis. I find it one of the best antibacterial and lymphatic herbs for recurring cystitis and urinary tract infections. We tend to use it acutely rather than long term for infections.

These beautiful flower heads will be dried over the next few days and stored for tea mixes and we will harvest more flower heads for fresh tincturing. Echinacea is easily grown at home to be used in fresh tea. Nothing like fresh flower teas from the garden.